French director and actor Emmanuel MOURET was the guest of ESRA's Jeudis de l'ESRA on December 2, at the Jean RENOIR amphitheater.
Emmanuel MOURET's latest film, released in 2020 Les choses qu'on dit, les choses qu'ont fait, was screened for the students prior to the meeting. The director told the students that the absence of television and cinema during his childhood had finally given him a taste for it, and that while still a schoolboy, his dream was to make films. Emmanuel MOURET considers his first short film to have been a flop. At the start of his career, he was always afraid he'd never be able to make another film. The triumph of Mademoiselle de Jonquière enabled him to establish his work as a director, and his films were watched with greater attention. Even though he shrugs it off, for him, critics are part of the process of shaping filmmakers, and he sees their role as fundamental to the viewer.
Emmanuel MOURET also spoke about the technical side of his work, and the preparatory work he does before shooting. Staging is a relationship with the frame, and he prepares potential cuts. For him, cinema is an art of the moment, and you have to be prepared to make decisions. He doesn't choose a particular theme for his films, but rather situations that interest him. His inspiration often comes from particular cases.
A director as well as an actor in some of his films, he initially acted out of necessity, notably in his graduation film. His first producer wanted him to act in Laissons Lucie faire, and in the end, his producers have always decided whether or not he acts in his films. Emmanuel MOURET seeks the obvious with his actors, and places great importance on choosing them carefully.
